"Soldier, wake up!" An Officer tapped my shoulder roughly, my eyes drifted up, to the frontlines, We're being pushed back, and the Queen is not sending any more reinforcements.

  At least, that's what I thought.

  Then came the echoes of another battlefield.

  "INCOMING!! DREADNOUGHT!" A Jaeger's voice cut through the chaos, her hands busy loading a shot-trap. "Keep the pressure on until it gets set up! We might survive this yet!"

  The large metallic metal doors behind me opened, on the hands of a Soldat, while two Shock troopers, and one, very large person encased in a full suit of armored metal.

  "Here they come!" The sound of a Devil's Kiss's .30-06 Ball bullets rings out, as combatants fell like flies, I stood there, amazed.

  I've heard about Dreadnoughts, and the rumors that all people that are turned into one are overdosed on painkillers and are guarenteed to die. But seeing one? Another story. I noticed something on it's back cape, a few names, but most recently? the name, Amelia.

  Was that the person inside?

  Or was that the last person?

  Who knew?

  —————————

  A tap on his shoulder woke AM from his daydream, his Rifle raised on instinct, it's .50 Remover caliber bullet aimed forward. "What do you want?" Bulwark asked.

  "Footprints, but it's nothing human." Radio whispered, her hand holding her Binocular.

  "What?" Bulwark scoffed, rolling his shoulders. "My Lewis will turn it to fucking paste." His British accent giving way to something darker. Something filled with glee.

  "We fear it can even outclass AM's gun." She said, adjusting her headset. "What?! That's impossible- no, fuck that. My gun has the most effective-"

  A hand comes over his helmet, it was Storm, asking him to shut up. "Shush..! It's not near.. yet.. We should keep moving, I saw some kind of road."

  Radio turned over and raised an eye brow. "Interesting... Let's move." She checked her Carbine

  But something watched from the darkness. A hulking shadow, its breath low and guttural, its claws flexing into the dirt.

  Watched through it's eyes, watching the four mysterious people with intrigue...

  —————————

  Gates of Vale

  —————————

  "Halt!" A Huntsman held a hand out, holding his sword out, prompting everyone to bring up their firearms.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  "Woah woah, calm down! Put that sword down!" Bulwark shouted, his Metal wall deployed effortlessly on the ground, putting his Lewis gun's bipod on it.

  The Huntsman looked at the four, noticing their strange uniforms and gear. "..Who are you?" He asked, his grip tightening more on his sword, now in perfect form.

  "We are Shock Troopers from the Royal Nation and the Golden Empire." Radio stated proudly, still pointing her gun at the man. "We're just passing through this village to search for an entrance to the underground."

  "...who?" The Huntsman lowered his sword, confused look on his face.

  Storm walked up, checking his drum before putting it back in. "Doesn't matter, let us through." His voice low, and dangerous.

  The Huntsman looked before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Bahahaha, You guys look stupid in those—" A large bang shouted out, AM's rifle barrel smoking, he just shot the ground beside him and a medium sized crater was left.

  He recoiled back, before raising his arms and dropping his sword. "O- Okay..! Go on through I-.."

  The rest moved, Bulwark grabbed his shield and walked up to him. "You saw nothing." He turned on his heel and walked off.

  Radio walked beside AM, staring at him like she just saw a martian. "You.. didn't have to do that." She said, lightly.

  "If I didn't we'd be forced to stay in that forest, it gives me the creeps." He said, monotone, inserting a new magazine into his .50 Remover Anti Materiel rifle.

  "...I won't argue with that." she whispered, her hands toying with her safety, a habit she got used to after her father gave her that 'Honour' pistol when she was just a child.

  As they passed, the locals stared—not with fear, but with quiet, cautious curiosity.

  Their faces weren't hollow like the workers in Solace. No desperation, no hunger. Just calm, disciplined gazes, like they had nothing to fear.

  The constant famines in the caves she saw was a disheartening sight, especially after the time she raided a Solace warehouse after they seceeded from the coalition.

  She quickly shook that thought away, looking up and noticing the shift in environment, the stone road quickly turned into stone buildings, a sight she'd never seen before, Trucks moved along the road, their beds filled with agricultural and industrial items.

  "Holy shit..." Bulwark whispered, seeing how—what the people were doing, and how they looked.. normal.

  A vehicle stops infront if them, two Police officers held their guns out, shouting. "You four! You're under arrest! Drop those weapons!" They shouted.

  She turned over at Storm, nodding. "Alright..! We surrender.. but don't take our weapons."

  The officers waited, guns pointed forward, the silence only broken by the constant transmissions from Radio's Back mounted radio.

  The setting sun casted down onto their helmets, reflecting brightly. "Alright! Keep your hands up!" The two empire soldiers looked at them suspiciously, holding their guns tight.

  AM gripped tighter on his rifle. His heart thudding in his ears.

  "The fuck are you doing?!" he snapped, stepping closer to Radio. His helmet tilted forward, drooping onto his eyes.

  "Look, We're dead if they don't recognize us and just.. murder us!" She shouted back.

  "I-.. Fine..." He looked back at Radio after seeing Bulwark shaking his head lightly.

  —————————

  Police station.

  —————————

  "Start talking. Now." The Detective slammed his hands on the table, eyes locking onto Storm.

  "You red goggles guy. Name. Now."

  "Storm Trooper." He said, monotone.

  "That isn't a fucking—" He cut himself off. "Tell me, your name, not your codename or whatever, your ACTUAL, NAME." he said, his tone low.

  "Sergeant Major Storm Trooper." He said, hand fillding with his Drum mag.

  "Are you kidding me?! You!" He quickly pointed to Radio, who's trying so hard to not burst into laughter.

  "Ahah—uh—" She wheezed, struggling to laugh. "Corporal! Radio Trooper!" She put a hand over her mouth, shoulders shaking.

  "..." He turned away and punched the wall, so hard it has a crack in it. "That's what's gonna happen to your SKULL if you don't tell me your NAME." He said, his voice low.

  Bulwark moved, slow. The floor creaked under his weight.

  Before the Detective could react, a glove grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall.

  The wall cracked.

  "Look, Yer gonna need to understand that our names are what we are." his eyes peered through the six slits on his mask. "Example, she," He pointed to Radio "Is a Radio trooper, because she has a Radio."

  She smiled in response. "And he," Bulwark pointed to AM "Is Anti Materiel, AM for short, has a big caliber rifle, is an Anti Materiel rifle." He said, his hands gripping his shoulders further.

  "Now you have six seconds to apologize before we send you straight into Hell like it was a tuesday." He said, his arm reeling back, to punch him.

  But then, the door bursts open, and two women walk in.